Theme: Changing Tommorrow ,Today

The project TEDxUFS is an independent local platform that is also organised within the spirit of TED and is mainly hosted within the borders and confines of the University of the Free State which is situated in the Free State province in South Africa. This marks the first TEDx event to be hosted in the University of the Free State since its inception in 1904. A significant point about this prestigious event is the fact it will be hosted in 2014 when the UFS celebrates 110 years since its establishment in 1904. As mentioned above, this particular event, namely TEDxUFS, will be based on the UFS strategic vision for 2016, and the theme: “Changing tomorrow, today”. Every speaker will be urged to align each of their talks to align with these two entities.

The purpose behind TEDxUFS is that, the current atmosphere amongst students and people around Bloemfontein requires that we address the apathy and lack of zeal that exists within the University of the Free State and the city. There may be people who are doing great things within the UFS and outside the UFS, but it has come under our attention that people here still live far below their potential. This situation obviously needs relief. This can be done by sparking public innovation through the idea of TEDx, and to send a message to the UFS student community that they do not need to do something big to be great, but they need to embrace and express the unique ideas which will ultimately be considered as great. TEDxUFS seeks to ignite a culture of ambition that gives confidence to the idea that dynamites come in small packages. This is ideal is often realized at many TEDtalks by TED speakers and performers who change the world in the most seemingly impossible ways imaginable such as the man who was put in a rock of ice for 40 minutes to send a message that perseverance and resilience is the key to change in our interdependent world. This will inspire UFS students and the broader society to be extraordinary and bolder in expressing their innovative ideas.

University Road
Bloemfontein, Free State, 9301
South Africa